


Methodology

by scy



Category: Star Trek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 14:09:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scy/pseuds/scy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim reaches out in his own way</p>
            </blockquote>





	Methodology

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to aelora, seperis, and onefishjyuufish for reading, encouragement, and important conversations

Jim Kirk scrubbed a hand under his nose, wiping some of the blood away and leaned on the closed door. He braced himself for a second and then knocked. It opened, and Uhura stared at him in surprise.

"James? What happened?"

"It's Jim, Nyota, remember?" The look he got was definitely not a receptive one, and Kirk sighed.

"May I come in, Uhura?"

With a gentler smile, she stood aside, and led Jim into her apartment.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, I got into an argument."

"Just one?" Uhura asked.

"It got a little out of control," Jim said.

"I see that."

Uhura's apartment was Fleet standard in size and layout, just like that of all the other women who had let Jim come back to their places. The differences were what counted and Jim glanced around covertly, trying to get an idea of who Nyota Uhura was. Still shaky, he walked toward the couch, but stopped when Spock came into the room, a box in his hands and nodded at Jim.

"If you'd take a seat, I will look at your injuries."

"Sit down," Uhura said. "You showed up here, the price of that is having us make sure you're all right."

"It's not that bad, you two don't need to put yourselves out."

Spock waited a second longer and then spoke up. "If you continue to stand at that angle, it is likely you will lose your balance in approximately three seconds."

"Since you insist," Jim said and took a seat. He hadn't expected Spock to be here too, but it made sense, as the Vulcan and Uhura had some kind of relationship, albeit one that Jim would admit he didn't understand.

Spock put a med kit down, and pulled out a tricorder which he swept over Jim. His expression didn't change, but when he handed the instrument to Uhura, she frowned.

"How many of them were there?"

"I don't remember."

"As you have a concussion, that is not surprising," Spock said.

Jim moved back when Spock reached for his face and the Vulcan paused.

"You have an accumulation of blood in your skull and if it is not repaired you will suffer further damage."

"Just let him fix it or you're going to spend the night in the hospital instead of my couch," Uhura said.

"Yes, ma'am," Jim said, and smiled widely at Uhura, but she didn't look impressed.

"Sit still, I'll get something so you can clean yourself up."

"Thank you."

She came back with a bowl, a cloth and hot water, and Jim washed his face and hands while Spock passed the tricorder over him again, adjusted the settings and made one more sweep over Jim's body. When that was completed, he nodded.

"That will be sufficient, you are out of danger."

Jim put a hand to his head and frowned. "I've got a pounding headache, you couldn't do anything about that?"

"While you will not suffer any permanent damage from this incident it might do you well to have a lingering reminder of the consequences if such a situation arises again."

"It always does," Jim said. "And trying to teach me a lesson never works."

"I have gathered as much," Spock said, and Uhura snorted.

"Here, try this, your face still looks like someone put their fist in it."

Putting the cold pack on his cheek, Kirk looked up to see the Vulcan staring at him expressionlessly.

"This has got to have happened to you at some point."

"I have never allowed myself to be in such a position."

"No wild youthful misadventures? You and the other Vulcans didn't wrestle over who got to play scientist first?"

"No."

As usual, Spock's precise Vulcan control didn't allow for so much as a hint of amusement or nostalgia, Jim couldn't imagine him being under the influence of any emotion that he didn't feel served a logical purpose.

"Why don't you people ever talk about yourselves?"

Spock tilted his head to the side. "You people?"

"Vulcans."

"Firstly, we are not, as you are, human. Therefore, our habits are different, and it is not in our nature to have a need to spontaneously share information when it is not relevant to the situation."

"It's considered polite to offer something of yourself when you want to be friends with someone."

"What gave you the impression that I sought your friendship?"

Jim winced. "Point taken." He considered the time he'd spent with Spock and what little he knew about Vulcans and continued. "I mean in general, Vulcans don't tell anyone their business, ever. Why is that?"

"Quite possibly for the same reason that humans cannot help but proclaim their intentions to anyone who might be listening," Spock said.

"Are you saying we're loudmouths?" Uhura asked, sitting on the couch beside Jim.

"As a species? Yes, it is one of your defining traits."

Jim smiled. "Interesting. But you've still managed to deal with us."

"If circumstances bring a necessity to the fore then it must be dealt with in spite of obstacles that may exist."

"That's your way of saying you do what you have to?" Jim asked.

"Put in simple terms, yes."

Jim glanced at Uhura. "How can you tolerate that?"

"I'm not tolerating anything," Uhura said. "Didn't they teach you that every species is unique, James?"

"They did."

"Then why would you expect a Vulcan to conform to your standards?"

"Haven't we already had this conversation?"

"It seems as though you require repetition in order to grasp certain basic concepts," Spock said.

"I have learned that you're kind of full of yourself."

"Being aware of one's abilities is not hubris."

"And yet I can't agree with you when Vulcans are involved."

"How many Vulcans have you even met?" Uhura asked.

"Just a couple," Jim said.

"You're basing your opinion on only a couple individuals? How well did you get to know them before you decided they weren't exciting enough for you?"

"It is fortunate I did not judge all humans on my first experiences," Spock said and gathered up the med kit and returned it to the kitchen.

"Well, he has you there," Uhura said.

"He's so proud of being Vulcan, that has to get annoying."

"You aren't anything alike, then?"

"Not a bit."

"Interesting," Uhura said, and Jim blinked.

"You sound like Spock."

"It makes sense, we have known each other for years."

She was being careful about what she said, which, given that the Fleet was somewhat careful about its regulations regarding fraternization, made sense, but they were alone, and Jim was curious.

"I can see that. I don't think Spock hangs around just anyone."

"You'd be right."

Seemingly uninterested in their conversation, Spock walked past them both and took a seat and began rearranging the sticks resting in the middle of the table, and Jim guessed that he was going to pretend that Jim wasn't there unless he was asked a direct question.

"What were you doing before I got here?" Jim waved a hand at the sticks. "What is all of that?"

"It is Kal-Toh," Spock said.

"And that is what?"

"A Vulcan game," Uhura said.

"How does it work?"

"The object is to arrange the pieces in a perfect sphere," Uhura said.

"To be more accurate, the final form is that of a polyhedron, specifically a icosidodecahedron," Spock said, and his precise explanation made Jim smile.

"I'm assuming that you're an expert at it."

"I am very proficient," Spock said.

"Of course," Jim said, and glanced to his left. "Do you play too, Uhura?"

"Yes, but it's not a game you can master easily."

"Why is that?"

"The object of Kal-Toh is to move the pieces through space to achieve a perfect balance, and once a single form has been achieved, there are an infinite number of variations depending on the participants and their understanding of spatial mechanics," Spock said. "To summarize, it is the establishment of order out of chaos."

"So it never gets old," Jim said.

"No, the game does not lose its beneficial aspects."

"Do you mind if I watch a round?"

Spock made no objection, and Uhura shrugged. "If you think you can stay awake, this isn't a very interesting game to watch." She glanced at Spock. "At least, not if you don't have some idea of what's going on."

"I might be able to figure out enough to like it," Jim said, and smiled, curling up more comfortably on the couch. "Let's give it a try."

"Very well," Spock said, and motioned to Uhura.

Uhura made the first move, drawing a stick out of the cluster, then sat back, and Spock removed one next to the first. At the outset, it only looked like they were pulling the pieces out without reason, but there was a pattern to each move, and Jim was guessing, a strategy.

"It reminds me of chess," Jim said, his eyes heavy.

"The comparison is faulty, but it is the closest one that you can make without more information," Spock said.

"I'm glad your opinion of my mental abilities hasn't suffered because of my behavior."

"You are only demonstrating a typical Human male desire to assert your dominance. For your species, the only means you have found to prove this is through violence, and therefore your actions are only fitting."

"And again I'm being insulted," Jim said.

"It was an observation, not a personal attack," Spock said.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference."

"There are certain nuances," Uhura said. "It takes prolonged contact with Vulcans to be able to recognize them." She smiled playfully at Spock. "It's all in the intonation."

"Is that so?" Jim asked.

"Some of that is accurate," Spock said.

"I'm glad to hear it." Jim pressed a hand to the side of his head. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight?"

"I don't think you want to explain to your RA how you got into another fight," Uhura said.

Just the thought of it made Jim grimace. "Yeah, if I get another demerit, I'm going to have to explain myself to the Disciplinary Board again."

"I'm sure they're used to seeing you."

"I've almost worn a groove in the floor in that office."

"Curiously unsurprising," Spock said.

"Now that was an insult," Jim said and Uhura nodded, getting up and grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch. "I'll get you a pillow and you can get some rest."

Jim dragged the blanket over himself and accepted the pillow. He glanced from Uhura to Spock as they stood in the doorway, and smiled. "I appreciate this, and I promise I'll be gone first thing in the morning."

"Just get some sleep," Uhura said, and Spock followed her out of the room.

When Jim awoke, he was twisting himself around in the blanket, and got himself loose with a couple of moves he was glad nobody was around to see him being so clumsy.

There was a plate of food on the table beside the completed icosidodecahedron, and a note from Uhura that made Jim smile. Apparently she trusted him to both lock up when he left and to get into another situation like last night at some point in the future, and he was welcome to stay over again, so long as he brought a change of clothes.

Jim ate, splashed some water on his face and made his way back across campus, thinking about how best to seek Uhura and Spock out and what he was going to say to them that would encourage at least one of them to want to continue the acquaintance.

A week passed, and during several of his free class periods, Jim considered his options. When he thought he had figured out a way of approaching them, he made his way to the Linguistics Department. He was standing in Spock's doorway and debating whether or not he should knock, when he realized Spock was sitting at his desk, watching him with one eyebrow raised. The Vulcan was courteous enough not to make any disparaging remarks immediately, and Jim took his cue and tried to be polite as well.

"What are you working on?" Jim moved slowly into the office, and sat in the empty chair. Spock looked askance at his boldness, but permitted it as he tapped the screen of the PADD he was holding.

"I am reviewing student essays concerning consonant drift in regional dialects of Andorian."

"Have they picked up on the continuant consonants?" Jim asked.

"Although this is an Advanced Phonology class, some of the finer minutiae of the language are not immediately apparent in every pupil's work," Spock said.

"By now they should have heard about sonorants and continuants," Jim said. "But, is that your way of saying that the students aren't as gifted as their instructor?"

"I made no such judgment. Every student has the opportunity to prove themselves, and they just have to take advantage of that chance."

"Every single student?" Jim asked. He was thinking of his own experiences in Spock's class, and the fact that he had rubbed Jim the wrong way immediately, in spite of how much Jim had been looking forward to Xenolinguistics and courses in that department. Survival and tactics were much easier for him, but he liked to challenge himself whenever he could, and dealing with Spock without resorting to smart remarks was definitely that.

"Provided they allow themselves to take advantage of this chance, they can learn a great deal."

"And you never make it more difficult for a student to learn, in spite of your own feelings toward them."

"I do not allow emotion to command my actions," Spock said.

"Never? I remember you having a pretty strong reaction to me. You've got quite a grip when you want to use it."

"Vulcans are several times as strong as your species, Kirk."

"I noticed that you didn't have any problem picking me up and throwing me around," Jim said.

"It was the most expedient course of action," Spock said.

Jim nodded. "It did make your point. I wonder why Vulcans aren't given to being so plain more often."

"There are not many occasions that require such measures." Spock considered Jim's casual sprawl. "But your kind does seem to require deft handling."

"You make us sound like unruly children."

"In many ways that is true," Spock said, and just as he was going to expound on that, Uhura came in carrying her own stack of PADDs.

"This isn't Intergalactic history, Commander, you don't need to point out things that are probably obvious, even to James."

When Jim frowned at Uhura for cutting off what might have been a good argument, she gave him a bland look that he thought was more dangerous than her words.

"Since you're here not in your Transportation Mechanics class," Uhura said, "you can help me sort these exams by section." She handed over an armful of PADDs, and Jim, who was still surprised that any of them were required to finish their classes, after everything that had happened, stared at her.

"Me?"

"You're looking for something to do, and it would be a great help to me if I didn't have to do everything."

Spock was ignoring their byplay, and so Jim smiled warmly at Uhura. "He makes you do everything?"

"Within reason. Don't think you can charm your way out of this, James, you're the one who showed up here with nothing to do but pull the Commander away from his work."

"You call him Commander Spock?"

"When it's appropriate."

"What else do you call him?"

"Really, James, are you that bored?" Uhura asked.

"It's a reasonable question."

"Actually, it's none of your business," Uhura sat down in the chair closest to Spock's desk and slid off her shoes. Jim noticed as she tucked her feet underneath her, that the chair was angled toward Spock's but in such a way that it wasn't obvious unless one was paying attention. As he was looking for the slightest sign of the relationship between Spock and Uhura, Jim noticed it, and kept searching for other tiny adjustments that they had made.

"You both continue to engage in an argument that cannot be easily solved. It would seem reasonable to instead utilize time more wisely and begin reviewing the assignments."

"Do Vulcans object to spirited discussion?" Jim asked.

"Not unless it interferes with another task, which this has begun to."

Jim glanced sideways at Spock and ducked his head. "Sorry, Commander."

"Apologies are unnecessary, actions are the most meaningful course of action."

"So I should shut my mouth and get busy."

"Yes," Spock said and returned to his corrections.

For nearly a half hour there was little nose besides the soft beeping of a page being turned and notes entered. Jim had been sorting the materials and only skimming, but then he came across a paragraph that was worth sharing.

"This Cadet, Jones has made an interesting leap in logic."

Uhura looked up. "What's that?"

"They've suggested that the use of certain consonants is universal, not just among different clans of Andorians, but among almost every other species," Jim said.

"What is their reasoning?" Spock asked.

"That all life had to originate on each planet in a similar way, and because of that, certain sounds hold true. At one point they refer to the theory of a proto language as seen on Earth."

"Anything else?" Uhura asked.

Jim scrolled down and shook his head. "No, and I think it's not entirely impossible, but life developed on each planet independently, so a common ancestral language is really unlikely. Unless somehow there was a common contact situation."

Spock had left off his readings and was regarding Jim silently.

"I've taken a comparative xenolinguistics class, and I know that Vulcan has some similarities to Sanskrit script." Jim hurried on as the idea came together. "I know that your people have a longer history, but there are commonalities in the Vedic tradition and the teachings of Vulcans. It's about finding your center and using that to deal with life." Jim had never gotten an opportunity like this to interact with Spock outside of class and he was excited to take advantage of it.

"That's a curious idea," Uhura said and her gaze moved to Spock. "Are there any examples?"

Spock went to the clear-board and began drawing Vulcan script up and down. "Uhura, will you present a Sanskrit equivalent?"

Uhura joined Spock at the board, and they began an exchange of words. As Spock's flowing penmanship filled the board, Uhura wrote quickly and laughed as Spock wrote a particularly complex segment.

When Jim thought they were reaching a small lull, he got up and stood beside Uhura and took up the next line.

"I surmise that you are both familiar with the word-stress rule?" Spock asked.

Jim and Uhura nodded.

"Very well, translate this sentence, and explain your justifications based on vowel position and stress." Spock began a new line of symbols.

After considering the words for a moment, Jim began writing, and Uhura did the same. They finished and turned to Spock, who moved to review their work. When he nodded and stepped back to begin again, Jim grinned at Uhura as they waited.

It quickly became a game, with Spock making the first move and Uhura and Jim racing to produce the best answer. At one point they were jostling each other to get to the board first, and as Jim tried to reach above her to write his response, Uhura ducked underneath his arm, claimed an empty space and secured a victory. They turned to Spock at the same time, and he raised an eyebrow at them both. "You seem to have taken this exercise to another level."

"It's a good game," Jim said. "You should try it with your students."

"If I wanted a riot to break out, this would be an excellent method," Spock said.

"It was only a friendly competition," Uhura said. "No harm in that. All right, I have an afternoon class and then I'll be meet you at the mess hall." She glanced at Jim. "You can join us if you want."

"What time?"

"I'll be done at about 2030."

Jim snuck a glance at Spock, and then smiled widely. "I'll see you there."

"Great." Uhura laid her hand next to Spock's on the board, then touched the back of his with her fingertips and turned away.

"I will see you this evening," Spock said, and that was apparently everything that they needed to say, because Uhura smiled at him, then at Jim, and left.

Jim wanted to ask why Uhura didn't warrant a kiss or even a hug, but he had seen that Vulcans weren't normally demonstrative, so it could be that affection wasn't even something they understood. He went to his chair, handed the padds to Spock, and, on an impulse, let his fingers drag along the back of Spock's hand. The Vulcan stiffened slightly, drawing his hand back, and Jim pretended he hadn't seen it. As Jim left the office, he caught a glimpse of him flexing his fingers, as if he wasn't sure whether he wanted to shake off the sensation or encourage it, and Jim was looking forward to figuring out the possibilities and what they meant.


End file.
